Surely

Josh.14:⁶ “…Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me…”

God made a promise through Moses. Moses died. Caleb said, “The promise did not die, bring-it-on! Moses may die but the promise of God remains. Bring-it-on! Num.23:¹⁹ “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” It is so important that we get this; it is the promises that you take hold of that becomes yours. It is so powerful. God has spoken, it will come to pass. God is not a man, God is dependable, you need to hold on to the promise. Stand on the promise and say to heaven, “Bring-it-on!” Hold on to the promise and do not give up.

Now, pay attention to this. Josh.14:^{6 & 12} “…Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea… So, give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.” (emphasis added). What is going on here? Caleb says to Joshua, “I do not know about you, give me my mountain. If you like, be roaming about, supervising everybody. You were there, you heard the promise yourself. Whether you are entering your promise or not is your business. I am entering my promise.” [paraphrased]. How does this apply to us? There comes a time that the promise of God must be personal to you, otherwise, it remains elusive.

Every time the promise of God is given, many times it is general. But you see until that general promise, the promise that was made to you and “Joshua”, becomes a promise to you alone, it remains elusive. Until the promise, God’s Word for His children becomes God’s Word for you, it remains elusive. God’s promise may be general, but it remains elusive until it is personal, until you personalize it. I take the Word of God very personal; it is as if I am the only one God wrote the Bible for. When God says, “You will be above only…”, what I see there is, “Olufemi Monehin, you will be above only.”  That is all I see. Make God’s promise personal. What separated Caleb from the others? Caleb made the promise personal. He said, “Bring-it-on!” Now I want you to bring what the Lord said to you, that promise, into focus as we sing this hymn as a prayer.

Prayer [Hymn]: Standing on the promises I cannot fail. When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail. By the living Word of God, I shall prevail. Standing on the promises of God.

Chorus: Standing, standing; standing on the promises of God my Saviour. Standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.